FitSugar

Volleyball Basics

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:30:00 -0700

Were you forced to play volleyball in PE class your freshman year of high school? If so, do you remember any of the rules? Here's a pop quiz that doubles as a refresher course so you will be ready to play at the BBQ you attend.

It's Ultimate Frisbee Time

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:15:00 -0700

Warmer weather always makes we want to go for a nice long walk in the park. I always see college kids, running around barefoot, and tossing around a frisbee.

Some ladies are causal frisbee tossers, and others take the game much more seriously. Ultimate Frisbee has taken this carefree pastime to a whole other competitive level.

It's like a whole bunch of sports rolled into one. You play on a field similar to one used for football. It requires the athletic endurance of soccer, and the quick thinking and passing of basketball. It's played by 2 teams of 7 players.

In order to score a point, you need to catch the frisbee in the other team's end zone (kind of like football). You can run around unless you have control of the frisbee, then you need to stay put until you pass it.

If you want to play, you can always get a bunch of your buddies together for a friendly game, but you could also join a club, team, or game in your area.

Want to see the 10 rules of Ultimate Frisbee? Then read more

Here are the rules:

The field is rectangular, with endzones at each end. A regulation field is 70 yards by 40 yards, with endzones 25 yards deep.
Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective endzone line. The defense throws ("pulls") the frisbee to the offense.
Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's endzone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.
The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the frisbee. The person with the disc ("thrower") has ten seconds to throw the frisbee. The defender guarding the thrower ("marker") counts out the stall count.

When a pass in not completed (e.g. out of bounds, drop, block, interception), the defense immediately takes possession of the frisbee and becomes the offense.
Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury timeout.
No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.
When a player initiates contact on another player a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.
Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes )there are no referees).
Ultimate Frisbee stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

Michael Pollan's Food Rules to Live By

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:47 -0700

I've had a crush on Michael Pollan for a while now, and though the specifics of his food manifesto may be hard for everyone to adopt, I think his basic rules are ones to live by: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. (And processed food is not food.)

Whenever finishing a book or essay by Pollan, I always walk away with a new food rule myself. I was excited to see that in this year's annual New York Times Magazine food issue, Pollan turns the tables, asking what food rules we the readers live by.

There were thousands of submissions, and of those, Pollan picked the ones he felt made the most sense for a healthy life. What I found interesting was what he said about the ones he didn't use, "a banquet of food policies that even when they made little, if any, nutritional sense . . . nevertheless opened a window on our current thinking about food: the stories we tell ourselves, the games we play and the taboos we invoke to organize our eating lives."

I've been guilty of this myself - eating something "healthy" when it was nothing more than processed crap.

Learn a simple rule when you read more.

The reader-submitted rules are fun and wise, and the NYT's presentation make them a treat to read through. One of my favorites:

Avoid snack foods with the "OH" sound in their names: Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, Tostitos, Hostess Ho Hos, Etc. -Donna David

In this piece, Pollan offers up another one of his own rules that I adopted years ago: pick butter over trans-fat-loaded margarine. Surely he and Julia Child can't be wrong.

What food rules do you live by?

You Asked: What's the 10 Percent Rule?

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Recently, I wrote about how to increase your mileage when running without exhausting or injuring yourself. I mentioned the 10 percent rule, and FitSugar reader TidalWave asked,

"Can someone give me an example of the 10 percent rule? I read it over and over and over but don't know how to implement it into my training."

This is a great question, especially considering many people's enthusiasm for running has probably increased just as the temps have. Plus the wide trails and fresh Spring air make you feel like you can run forever. So before you go from 10 miles last week to 30 miles this week, you must obey the 10 percent rule. It's a way to gradually increase your mileage while preventing overuse injury and allowing your body time to adapt.

If you need to see what this rule means when it comes to how many miles you run, then see the chart I made after you read more.

The 10 percent rule states: Never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent as compared to the previous week. Let's say you're starting off with running 10 miles (two miles each day). Check out the chart below to see how many miles you should increase each week. Most people run about 12 to 20 miles a week, so you can stop increasing once you reach your weekly mileage amount.

Week 11

	Amount for 10% increase	Total Weekly Mileage
Week 1	starting point	10 miles
Week 2	1 mile	11 miles
Week 3	1.1 miles	12.1 miles
Week 4	1.2 miles	13.3 miles
Week 5	1.3 miles	14.6 miles
Week 6	1.5 miles	16.1 miles
Week 7	1.6 miles	17.7 miles
Week 8	1.8 miles	19.5 miles
Week 9	2 miles	21.5 miles
Week 10	2.2 miles	23.7 miles
2.4 miles	26.1 miles
Week 12	2.6 miles	28.7 miles

Source

Need Workout Motivation? Try the Five-Minute Rule

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:08:07 -0700

Whether you're just getting into a regular exercise routine or you've been following one for years, some days it's just so tough to motivate yourself to pull on a sports bra and lace up your sneaks. There are millions of excuses out there not to exercise, but you know you always feel better after you do. If that vague memory of post-workout bliss is not enough to get you moving, try the five-minute rule by health and fitness coach Amelia Burton.

Still need more motivation? Check out these eight techniques.

Lessons From the White House Chef

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:00:07 -0800

Part of Michelle Obama's master plan to reform eating habits in this country includes the directive of a young chef named Sam Kass. Kass has been the Obamas' personal chef for several years now, and when the Obamas packed up and moved to the White House, he did too.

Kass, 29, plays more than cook at his current post: he is the first White House chef to have an actual desk in the East Wing and works alongside the rest of Ms. Obama's policy team with the title of "food initiative coordinator," meaning he's given the daunting task of getting the entire country to eat better.

To hear how Kass is trying to making the country healthier, read more.

How does one man do that in a country where the golden arches rule? In the latest editions of People and the Chicago Sun Times, Kass shares that moving past the obstacles won't be easy but "it's an unbelievable opportunity" that he couldn't turn his back on. In the last year, the chef has gotten closer to his goal by helping plant a garden on the White House lawn and educating children about the benefits of healthy eating. He's also discussing legislation with the Agriculture Department that would reform school lunch on a national level.

When it comes to feeding the first family, Kass and White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford serve up classic fare like burgers and tacos, but make healthy food swaps and use lean beef and low-sugar ketchup instead. As for dessert, it's a special treat served only on the weekends, and that order comes directly from Michelle herself.

Inspired by the Slow Food movement, Kass looks to the White House garden to inspire his menu, pushing forth the idea of eating local and by season. Right now, he's got his eyes on a bevy of sweet potato dishes and fresh salads, which should come in handy for the Obamas' first state dinner later this month.

How the Alphabet Can Prevent Skin Cancer

FitSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Most of the more than one million cases of skin cancer that are diagnosed in the US each year are considered sun-related, and of those, almost 11,000 people will die each year. That's a lot of deaths that could be prevented if people just took care of their skin by wearing sunscreen and doing skin self-exams. Check yourself for suspicious-looking moles, and if you find something odd, make an appointment immediately with a dermatologist.

If you're not sure what you should be looking for - this is where your knowledge of the alphabet comes into play - follow the A,B,C,D,E rule. To learn the rule, just read more.

A for asymmetry: A mole that, when divided in half, doesn't look the same on both sides.

B for border: A mole with edges that are blurry or jagged.

C for color: Changes in the color of a mole, including darkening, spread of color, loss of color, or the appearance of multiple colors such as blue, red, white, pink, purple or gray.

D for diameter: A mole larger than 1/4 inch in diameter.

E for elevation: A mole that is raised above the skin and has an uneven surface.

Check your skin often and look for these changes in your moles. Also be on the lookout for oozing, bleeding, itchiness, tenderness, or a mole that grows quickly. If detected early enough, the mole can be tested and removed if it's cancerous.

To protect yourself from future sun damage, remember to apply sunscreen 20-30 minutes before going outside, reapply it every two hours to prevent sunburn, and keep your skin protected at all times.

Source

30 Min Time Limit: Does That Apply to Me?

FitSugar — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:30:00 -0800

The question has been posed if it is OK to ignore the 30-min time limit rule that most gyms impose on their cardio equipment -- Especially, when some of us are training or doing intense cardio workouts and your workout is longer than the allotted 30 minutes.

My thoughts: It is NOT OK to ignore this rule. The rule is there so that every paying customer (yup, you're not the only one shelling out dues) gets a turn. If your cardio program calls for longer than 30 minutes and people are milling around looking for a free machine, get off and find another way to finish your workout. Maybe grab a jump rope or try hopping on the rowing machine.

Now if there is no one waiting and tons of free machines, then I do think it is OK to continue on past the 30 minute rule. Just be aware of those around you and use the good ole' golden rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Fact or Fiction: Health Myths

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:50:39 -0700

Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? And do you need all that water? With myths and old wives' tales sounding more like bona fide medical advice, knowing how to take care of yourself can be plain confusing. Do you know which of these accepted words of wisdom make real health sense? Take my quiz to find out.

Take the quiz

Tennis 101: How to Score

FitSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:00:03 -0700

Welcome back to Tennis 101. While Maria Sharapova is showing us how it's done during this week's riveting US Open tournament, I'm offering a primer for the rest of us.

Now that you know what to expect from your first lesson and how to behave on the court, it's time to tackle the more complicated stuff: scoring a tennis match. I'm not going to deny that learning how to keep score can be confusing at first. But once you learn the basics, it's actually pretty simple. Here's what you need to know to get started scoring in singles.

The Framework

Each tennis match is made up of two to three sets. To win a set, you must win at least six games.
The games are scored starting at "love" (or zero) and going up to 40, but that's actually just four points. From love, the first point is 15, then 30, then 40, then game point, which wins the game.

For the details on games, sets, and matches, read more.

Starting the Game

To determine who serves first, you flip a coin or (more likely) spin a racket. Whoever wins the toss gets to decide one of four things: that she wants to serve first, that she wants to receive first, which side of the court she wants to start on (in which case, the opponent chooses who serves first), or that she wants to leave the choices up to her opponent.
Whoever starts serving continues to serve until that game is over. Then the serve moves to the other player.
You serve from behind the baseline, starting on the right-hand side of the court, anywhere between the singles sideline and the center mark on the court.

Scoring the Game

Before serving, you should announce the score, with your score first, then your opponent's. So if you have zero and your opponent has 30, say "love-30."
Every time you serve, you get two tries. The serve must go over the net, land in the service box opposite you, and bounce once before your opponent returns it.
If it doesn't land in the service box, you take a second serve. If the second serve also misses, then you lose the point.
If your serve grazes the net but still lands in the service box, the serve doesn't count, and you must take that serve over. This is called a "let."
If your serve goes in and the opponent returns it, you continue hitting back and forth until someone hits the ball into the net, hits it out of bounds, or misses a shot. If that person is you, then your opponent gets a point. If it's your opponent who hits it into the net/out of bounds/misses a shot, then you get the point.
Whoever is serving continues serving until the score reaches 40, calling out the score before every serve.
If the score is tied at 40 ("40-all"), that is "deuce," which is essentially another word for tie. To break the tie, someone must win two points in a row. If you are serving at deuce and you win the next point, then you say "my ad," which means "my advantage." If your opponent wins, it goes back to deuce, and someone again must win by two points in a row. Yes, this could go on forever.
Once the game is over, the other person serves. After odd-numbered games (so after game one, game three, game five) you switch sides on the court.

Scoring a Set

Before the first serve in each new game, whoever is serving announces the score in sets. Say your score first, then your opponent's. So if you won the first set, you would say "1-0."
To complete a set, someone must win six games; the first person to win six games wins the set.
However, as with "deuce," you must win a set by at least two games. So, if the score is 6-5, the person with 5 must win by two games. If the score ties at 6-6, you play a tiebreaker.

Scoring the Match

The whole shebang is called a match. The match is determined by the best two out of three sets. So if you win two sets, you win. If you each win a set, then you play a third set to determine the winner.